Hydroplaning unmanned surface vehicle

ABSTRACT

An unmanned hydroplaning water surface vehicle having a gondola housing with external midway lift and control foils that allow the unmanned surface vehicle to provide lift and control in water at sufficient speed. A superstructure trimaran hull serves as a stable operation platform during low speed maneuvers or at rest. The superstructure hull encloses command and control systems capable of remote, semi-autonomous or fully autonomous control and navigation and vehicle attitude control. A plurality of mission specific payloads and sensors are positioned within the superstructure hull and gondola housing to allow for various types of missions. A strut connects the gondola housing and the superstructure hull above the waterline, as well as to provide for the passage therebetween of a plurality of transmission and control lines. The strut also mounts a rudder above propeller at the stern end of the gondola housing.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout payment of any royalties thereon or therefore.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to unmanned vehicles, and moreparticularly to unmanned surface vehicles (USV) designed for use inrough or calm bodies of water.

Unmanned air, ground and underwater vehicles have been developed thatperform numerous tasks and have proven extremely useful. However, USVshave not been developed to the same extent.

Littoral areas of operation may be denied, inaccessible or too hazardousto operate in with manned ships. Properly designed USVs could make theseareas accessible for operation. No multimission USV has been developedthat can operate for extended periods of time, in different seaconditions with numerous types of payloads and sensors. The applicantshave developed a novel USV system that has the built in flexibility toperform multiple missions for extended periods of time such as minecountermeasure, anti-submarine warfare, and intelligence, surveillanceand reconnaissance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An unmanned hydroplaning water surface vehicle having a gondola housingwith external lift foils located midway between bow and stern ends andcontrol foils that allow the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) to plane inwater at sufficient speed. A superstructure trimaran hull serves as astable operation platform during low speed maneuvers or at rest. Thesuperstructure hull includes command and control systems that make theUSV capable of remote, semi-autonomous or fully autonomous operations. Aplurality of mission specific payloads and sensors are dispersed in thesuperstructure and gondola to allow for various types of missions. Astrut connects the gondola housing and the superstructure hull assections of the vehicle, as well as provide for the passage of aplurality of transmission and control lines between such sections. Arudder is mounted on the strut at the stern end of the gondola housingabove a propeller associated with its propulsion system.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with otherand further objects thereof, reference is made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, andits scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the unmanned surface vehicle of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the unmanned surface vehicle of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the unmanned surface vehicle of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the unmanned surface vehicle of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a cut away side view illustrating the layout of components inthe unmanned surface vehicle of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the example of FIG. 1, the hydroplaning unmannedsurface vehicle (USV) 100 includes three main sections; a single gondolahousing 102, a strut 118, and a superstructure hull 122. The gondolahousing 102 is connected to the superstructure hull 122 by the strut118. The USV 100 is designed to be stable in rough seas when the craftis stationary or moving at low speeds. Once the USV 100 begins moving athigh speeds, mid foils 104 located midway between bow and stern of thegondola housing 102 and aft foils 106 lift the gondola housing 102 ofthe USV 100 up to a waterline 105 reducing waterplane area.

The gondola housing 102 preferably includes a ducted propeller 108 and apair of the mid lift foils 104 and a pair of the aft lift foils 106. Apropulsion motor 110, diagrammed in FIG. 5, drives the ducted propeller108 to provide thrust to the USV 100. Many different types of payloadsmay be carried in a bay with retractable doors (not shown) in thegondola housing 102. For example, the USV 100 may be outfitted as shownin FIG. 5, with a winch 114 and a towed minehunting sonar system 112.The placement of the towed system 112 is designed to be inline with athrust vector 111 along the centerline of the USV 100. In anotherembodiment the gondola housing 102 may include a sonar and sonar dome116 as shown in FIG. 4. The lifting foils 104 and 106 attached to thegondola housing 102 provide roll, pitch, sinkage control. Sinkage isdefined as the distance 103 between a baseline 106 and the waterline105. The mid foils 104, located amidship, can be independentlycontrolled to provide the necessary roll and sinkage control. The aftfoils 106 move jointly to control the pitch and sinkage of the USV 100.Once the USV 100 reaches approximately 15 knots, the foils 104 and 106provide enough lift so that the gondola housing 102 will plane to thewaterline 105 lifting the superstructure hull 122 out of the water.

As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical strut 118 mounts a rudder 120 for bothlow and high speed control. To reduce drag caused by the submerged strut118 and the gondola housing 102, it is preferable to provide the strut118 with a fairing surface 119 as illustrated in FIG. 2, to provide asmooth transition for the interface between the strut 118 and thegondola housing 102. The fairing surface 119 establishes filletingtransition boundaries between the strut 118 and the gondola housing 102.A number of passages for transmission and control lines extend throughthe strut 118 to permit electrical power, control signals, data signalsand mechanical linkages to be sent between the gondola housing 102 andthe superstructure hull 122.

As illustrated in the example of FIG. 2, the superstructure hull 122 isa trimaran configuration that will provide excellent stability in roughseas. The starboard outrigger side of the hull 122 houses a fuel tank124, deployable payloads bay 130 a port outrigger housed fuel tank 126as diagrammed in FIG. 5, and deployable payloads bay 132 as diagrammedin FIG. 2. The starboard payload bay 130 and the port payload bay 132may be configured to accommodate numerous types of equipment such astorpedoes, sonobuoys, mine countermeasure devices, semi-autonomousundersea vehicles of fully autonomous undersea vehicles. Suchconfigurable payload bays 130 and 132 make the USV 100 very flexible andcapable of performing numerous types of missions.

As shown in the example of FIG. 5, the center portion of thesuperstructure hull 122 includes a generator 128 as a source of powerfor propulsion and various types of electronic equipment. By operatingon the surface of the water, the USV 100 is able to utilize aconventional type of power source 128, such as diesel or gas turbineengines. This allows for up to several weeks of operational life.

The superstructure hull 122 houses most of the command, control andcommunication systems for the USV 100. The superstructure hull 122includes cabinets 134 and 136 for electronic equipment and various typesof sensors (including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance orISR sensors). A cabinet 138 for communications as shown in the exampleof FIG. 3 is also provided. In the preferred embodiment the satellitecommunications cabinet 138 would be housed under a radome. The USV 100would preferably be able to communicate to any combination of surfacevessels, aircraft, or satellites as well as undersea assets. Theelectronic equipment in the cabinet 134 includes, command and controlmodules to permit autonomous, semi-autonomous or remote operation of theUSV 100. The command and control techniques are similar to thoseemployed in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Additionally, theelectronic equipment would interface with the sensors in the cabinet 136to analyze possible threats and to take the appropriate action. Thesuperstructure hull 122 preferably is of low profile to reducesignatures and to increase intact hydrostatic stability.

In operation the USV 100 would be assigned to perform one of its primarymissions such as anti-submarine warfare (ASW), mine countermeasure (MCM)or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Insertion intoareas where there is threat of nuclear, biological or chemical agents iseven possible. The USV 100 would be able to remain at a location for upto several weeks without resupply as it utilizes conventional powersources instead of mission limiting power supplies such as batteries.

The USV 100 could perform either alone or as part of a squadron of theUSVs 100 to accomplish the missions identified. As part of a squadronthe USVs 100 would be able to rapidly deploy at speeds up to 35 knotsand patrol in a grid over a large area. Then the USV 100 could deploy aplurality of smaller unmanned undersea vehicles (USVs) from the payloadbays 130 and 132 to provide extensive coverage within the grid. The USV100 would then serve as a tender and communications hub for the USVs tocollate data and transmit information to a central location forprocessing the data from the squadron. Additionally, it would bepossible to have the USVs determine various courses of action such asmine or submarine neutralization independently or to wait forinstructions. By operating in this manner the USV 100 could clear anarea of threats prior to manned ships transiting the area.

While there have been described what are believed to be the preferredembodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art willrecognize that other and further changes and modifications may be madethereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it isintended to claim all such changes and modifications that fall withinthe true scope of the invention.

1. An unmanned water surface vehicle comprising: a gondola housingsection having bow and stern ends with external foils located midwaybetween the bow and stern ends to provide lift in water at sufficientspeed, said gondola housing section mounting a propulsion system at thestern end; a superstructure hull located entirely above a waterline anda strut connecting said gondola housing section to said superstructurehull completely above the waterline.
 2. An unmanned water surfacevehicle as defined in claim 1, wherein said strut mounts a rudder abovethe stern end of the gondola housing section and the propulsion system.3. An unmanned water surface vehicle comprising: a gondola housinghaving external foils spaced from a stern end thereof to provide lift inwater at sufficient speed, a propulsion system at said stern end, asuperstructure hull adapted to float on the water at sub foil liftingspeeds, means for connecting said gondola housing and saidsuperstructure housing hull; and a rudder mounted on said connectingmeans above the propulsion system at the stern end.
 4. An unmanned watersurface vehicle as defined in claim 3, wherein said means for connectingsaid gondola housing and said superstructure hull comprises: a fairedstrut.
 5. The water surface vehicle as defined in claim 3, wherein saidmeans for connecting the gondola housing and the superstructure hullcomprises: a strut extending between forward and aft ends of the vehiclein underlying relation to the hull; and said propulsion systemincluding: a propulsion motor mounted within the gondola housingadjacent said stern end thereof; and a propeller connected to thepropulsion motor positioned in rearwardly spaced relation to said aftend of the vehicle at which the rudder is mounted.